The Constitutional vision of Arterial Network – a Pan-African network of artists, cultural workers, creative enterprises and others engaged in the creative sector “is of a vibrant, dynamic and sustainable African creative civil society sector engaged in qualitative practice in the arts in their own right, as well as in a manner that contributes to development, human rights and democracy and to the eradication of poverty on the African continent”.
In the light of the above, Arterial Network strongly supports the struggle for democracy, human rights and social justice in Swaziland.
The struggle of the Swazi people reflects similar struggles of ordinary people in many other African countries as we have seen recently in Tunisia, Egypt and other North African countries, as well as in ongoing struggles against tyranny in countries such as Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe.
Arterial Network came into being precisely to support artists and cultural workers in African countries, many of whose governments do not support the arts either in terms of policy or funding. National chapters of Arterial Network have come into being in more than 30 African countries – including Swaziland – to play advocacy roles in support of the rights and aspirations of cultural workers, build capacity within the sector, support greater mobility of African artists within the region and generally integrate culture into development strategies.
Cultural workers are not immune from repressive policies and practices of undemocratic governments and the elites they serve. Through our nascent Artwatch Africa project that monitors freedom of creative expression on the continent, we receive regular reports of artists being arrested, detained, harassed, imprisoned and banned for exercising the basic human right of freedom to express their views as contained in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that states “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. The struggle of artists and cultural workers for freedom of expression is thus integral to struggles for democracy and human rights.
In this context, we note and understand the call for a cultural boycott of Swaziland as an additional means of pressure for democratic transformation of that society and for greater respect for human rights and freedoms there.
Arterial Network supports the application of cultural boycotts as a means of pressure towards democratic change and greater respect for human rights, but that such boycotts be applied in a selective manner (as it was in South Africa) that
• isolates ruling elites in undemocratic countries and avoids state cultural events that lend credibility to repressive regimes and
• builds, empowers and defends independent civil society structures, platforms and activists in the creative sector
We believe that selective cultural boycotts must contribute to the struggle for democracy and human rights by helping to organise all sectors of civil society, including the creative sector, and to build capacity and sustainability within the sector.
Finally, we encourage broader democratic forces struggling for change within Swaziland to engage with the progressive organised arts and culture community in Swaziland - and vice versa - in the formulation and application of strategies to transform Swazi society.
Issued by:
Arterial Network’s Continental Secretariat
Arterial Network Secretary General
Mike van Graan
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